Selecting Groups of Verticles
 

I was wondering how I can select a group of vertices without having to marquee-select them. I was watching a tutorial and he seems to seamlessly shift between selecting just one to selecting a whole group but without having to drag a selection box around the group he wants to pick up. I know I can paint select a group of vertices. But how do I quickly go from selecting say, a group of vertices at a pole, to a row among the center of a sphere, to a single point and back? Thanks!

i think its shift > and shift < or maybe not shift, its the shortcut for grow selection, shrink selection.